Prevalence of the use of prescription stimulants as "study drugs" by UK university students: A brief report

IntroductionThere is media concern over students using prescription stimulants as "cognitive enhancers" to try and improve their academic performance. However, there is limited evidence about the prevalence of this behaviour in the United Kingdom, or whether it has increased in recent years.MethodsWe review survey studies on students' use of cognitive enhancers.ResultsOverall reported use is low, with some inconclusive evidence that it is increasing. Use of modafinil appears to be higher than that of methylphenidate or dexamphetamine.ConclusionThere is a clear need for large-scale research in this area, using representative sampling and survey methods that protect student anonymity. We investigated the number of students in the United Kingdom using certain stimulant medicines, without a prescription, as "study drugs" to improve their performance in assessments. There is concern that these drugs can have harmful side effects and may be considered cheating. We found that a small minority of students are using these drugs, although one (modafinil) is more common. Most importantly, we found that there needs to be rigorous high-quality research to truly understand how many students are using these medicines and the possible harmful effects. image